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C. David Moody Jr. once turned down an investment from Michael Jordan for his construction business. Since 1987, Moody, a Howard University alum with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, has been leading C.D. Moody Construction. He launched the Atlanta, GA-based venture seven years after serving as a staff architect and field engineer at Bechtel Power Corp. Moody was in his early 30s at the time of the company’s launch. While speaking with AFROTECH Brand Manager Will Lucas on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, he admitted he had a team of three — which later scaled to more than 60 individuals — and launched with low capital. In fact, he and his wife had to borrow a couple thousand dollars to get C.D. Moody Construction off the ground. Moody said his saving grace was financial advice from his father, who served as a professor and later vice provost of the University of Michigan. “My dad grew up in the depression, and things were tight and he grew up very poor in Louisiana,” Moody...
This Black-owned construction company is doing it big for the culture. Made up of four generations of Black men, Choates G Contracting now has seven new multi-million dollar contracts underneath its belt, according to Blacknews.com. The company — headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — was launched by Mr. Darrell Choates Sr., who has over four decades of experience in the construction industry. He has played a massive role in ensuring that the company remains within the family and continues to operate as a robust minority-managed organization throughout the years.
When it comes to construction one may not think about the heavy lifting that technology can do to ensure that projects are able to come full circle — that is until TracFlo came to life! Khalid David — founder of TracFlo — hails from a family of construction work and knows the pain points that are faced by both contractors and consumers. “I typically ask people if they’ve ever done a kitchen or bathroom renovation,” said David in an interview with AfroTech. “You’ll discover that it starts at one price and ends up at another price and that’s because there are always unforeseen changes. That’s a part of the construction industry.” Whenever something is being built, like the commercial skyscraper in the downtown area of a particular city, the changes in tow can often cost tens of millions of dollars. With TracFlo, contractors are able to track and manage project costs in a one-stop shop, which saves them both time and money.
For entrepreneur Jeanie Hunter, her current occupation isn’t what she originally had in mind for her life but she’s still making strides that are defying the odds for Black women in business. According to Atlanta Black Star, she started out pursuing a career as a real estate developer and then transitioned over to the male-dominated field of construction to launch a lucrative business in 2003 called Synergy Development Partners. “As a career path, construction wasn’t something that I thought about when I went to college,” she shares with the outlet. “I thought in construction you really had to have a hammer or some type of trade experience.” Though she lacked traditional construction experience, that didn’t stop Hunter from taking a leap of faith as an independent business woman. The hard work is paying off for her now as her company recently inked an airport contract for canopy modernization at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Although Hunter’s company is now finally being...
Georgia-based construction company, C.D. Moody Construction , started from humble beginnings. According to Shoppe Black , founder, C. David Moody, started the construction company in 1988 when he and his wife, Karla, were in debt. Suffering from financial hardships, the couple was forced to work from their bedroom. In September of 2019, David Moody became 49 percent partner in an affordable and market-rate housing, restaurants, retail, offices, and a performing arts center construction deal worth $650 million, Shoppe Black reports. C.D. Moody’s projects are now worth nearly $3 billion and the company has completed over 200 commercial projects. Along with raking in billions, the construction company makes room to give back to the Atlanta community. C.D. Moody mentors children in the Atlanta area by teaching them financial literacy and the value of hard work. The Moody family also set the tone in their own home by implementing the same mentorship system with their children. “Every...
Those who have been following along with corporate news in recent weeks may already be aware of president Donald Trump’s ongoing initiative to bring massive financial changes to the tech industry. The head of state and 34-time convicted felon previously announced multi-billion dollar deals with fintech giants including OpenAI, SoftBank and more. The collaboration, which has been titled Stargate , has drawn eyes from a number of tech industry heads, including Apple’s Tim Cook . Now, according to recent reports, Cook himself has announced an effort to invest $500 billion back into the United States economy, with specific plans to hire 20,000 new U.S. based employees over the next five years. Though Apple has always been at the forefront of American engineering and design, this announcement has come as quite a shock to some investors, considering Tim Cook’s outspoken stance on upholding DEI initiatives , in stark contrast to Trump’s demands. Clearly, Cook is able to compartmentalize...
Veolia North America, an engineering firm, has agreed to pay $53 million for its alleged role in the ongoing lead-tainted water crisis plaguing Flint, MI, since April 2014. In exchange for the settlement, Michigan has agreed to dismiss its civil lawsuit against the Boston, MA-based company, which will pay 26,000 individual Flint plaintiffs suing them in separate litigation, according to The Detroit News. “After years of drawn-out legal battles, this settlement finally closes a chapter for Flint residents,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on Feb. 21, 2025. “While no amount of money can fully repair the damage caused to the Flint community, these funds will provide additional resources to those directly impacted, especially Flint children, by this preventable crisis.” Flint’s water crisis started when the city, under state-controlled emergency management, switched its drinking water source from Detroit’s Lake Huron to the Flint River while construction was underway on the...
Paula Wright has built an empire of McDonald’s restaurants, having made history at the start of the franchise era. According to MetroWest Daily News, Wright and her late husband, Don, became New England’s first Black McDonald’s franchisees in 1984. Before venturing into the fast-food industry, she had a career in technology at IBM. “A co-worker of mine, her husband was in the business,” Wright told the outlet. “That’s how Don and I got involved.” Their first location was in a newly built mall in downtown Boston, MA. However, the business did not fare well due to low foot traffic, with capacity never more than 60%. “There just weren’t enough people there,” Wright recalled to the outlet. The couple then secured a second location, but once again, sales did not match their expectations, which they believe was due to construction for TD Garden, a multi-purpose arena that opened in 1995. However, success would come when they moved into the suburbs. “We lived in Sudbury (MA), so when we...
Last week, Apple announced plans to launch the latest product in their long-running line of budget-friendly phones . The device, which many consumers tentatively titled the iPhone SE 4, is expected to release later this month, with a presale kicking off on Feb. 21. The initial announcement came jam-packed with surprises and updates, leaving Apple loyalists with plenty of new specs to pour over. If you’re interested in learning more about the iPhone SE 4, we’ve got you covered, with a brief but thorough deep dive into the latest Apple announcements , and a look ahead at what we can expect from the actual smartphone hardware. What Is The iPhone SE 4? The iPhone SE series dates back to 2016, when Apple execs decided to offer a budget-friendly alternative to their standard numeric line of smart devices. Unlike its contemporaries, including the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the SE would offer the latest in iOS services crammed into the outdated body of a previous model. While the device...
If you’ve been keeping up with Donald Trump’s moves since the end of the 2024 election , you likely already know that the newly inaugurated president has taken numerous meetings with CEOs and industry leaders in the world of tech, including those from OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle. According to the latest White House press briefing, Trump has united the forces of the aforementioned corporations under the umbrella of “Stargate,” in an effort to create a massive push for artificial intelligence infrastructure. For now, there are still plenty of questions regarding Stargate, and even a few critiques from high-ranking Trump cabinet picks arguing that the respective parties simply don’t have the funds to pull it off. Still, the New York Stock Exchange seems to be brimming with the news, as shown by the latest returns of each of the parties involved. The Stargate venture is poised to cost more than $500 billion when it’s all said and done, so many people in the world of tech and government...
BMW and Louis Vuitton’s 2014 collaboration is reportedly considered the most sought-after brand collaboration ever. Through its research, women’s online retailer Public Desire determined the top 10 collaborations by analyzing various factors, including original price, resale value , price growth, accessibility, and public interest. According to information provided to AFROTECH™, the company then calculated a composite score for each collaboration, which was ranked in descending order based on its performance across these criteria. With a composite score of 98.0, the BMX x Louis Vuitton collaboration, which produced highly exclusive luxury luggage, had the highest growth in resale value. When BMW announced the collaboration, Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW Group Design, highlighted the use of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) in the company’s i8 sports car as an example of its “intelligent lightweight construction philosophy.” “BMW and Louis Vuitton share both...
Charlamagne tha God has been inspired by his father’s entrepreneurial spirit for as long as he can remember. His father, who owned a fish market and a construction business, told him long ago, “When you get a business, don’t put your name on it. Because people [will] hate on it for no reason.” He’s kept that advice in mind on his journey. Born Lenard McKelvey, Charlamagne has established himself as a radio host, television personality, comedian, and businessman. One of his latest ventures involves expanding Krystal Restaurants. In an interview with AFROTECH™ , Charlamagne said franchising has always been a goal of his, and partnering with Krystal, a beloved Southern staple, was a great opportunity. “It just became one of those things that me and my wife wanted to do,” he told AFROTECH™. “This is one of those situations that just happened pretty organically. And I was with it. My wife was with it. You know, my financial team was with it. And we made it happen.” Charlamagne and his...
A Black-owned plaza is making its way to Quincy, FL, in Gadsden County. According to WCTV, a variety of Black-owned businesses will be joining Seaboard Plaza. The plaza’s purpose is to increase the economic activity locally and create more jobs. Seaboard Plaza will feature the following types of businesses: Food court Barber shop Hair salon Dry cleaners Construction and real estate offices Full-scale restaurant with a private bar room Event venue “This helps to employ local people. This helps keep local money local and not take it out of town. This also provides convenience to people,” Gadsden County Economic Development Director T.J. Lewis told the outlet. General contractor Latasha Murray, a Gadsden County native, commented: “We considered what other people in Gadsden County wanted. The restaurants was one of the main ones and the cleaners ’cause we don’t have a cleaners here in Quincy as of now.” Furthermore, Seaboard Plaza is being built on the same land as the former Seaboard...